Happy New Year! I can’t believe that today is 2022 after what has seemed an incredibly quick year.

2021 has definitely had its ups and downs for me and as always I find it helpful to reflect on the year in order to set my intentions for the year ahead.

Reflection

What went well for me: I welcomed another beautiful baby girl into the world in February and I’m blessed that I get to be a mother to two girls. Harlow is the most incredible, chilled and happy baby and she brings me so much joy.

I finally got to see my parents and sister in May after not seeing them since August 2019 due to the pandemic, and I went back home to Scotland in July/August and got to catch up with family and friends, as well as test out my parents hot tub!

Work wise I completed my Hypnotherapy Practitioner certification and started my Mindfulness Mastery. I worked with some lovely brands such as Batch Coffee, MooGoo Skincare, Daisy London and The Anti-Burnout Club.

I prioritised my self-care and met new friends through local baby groups. I read and read and read for the majority of the year to improve my knowledge on mindfulness and cognitive health.

What didn’t go so well for me: I struggled with shielding during the final trimester of pregnancy and complications during labour (having to have a manual removal of my placenta and more than 2 litre blood loss) then hypertension post birth really affected my maternal mental health, and the support wasn’t available due to the pandemic. I felt like the emotional support wasn’t there and I had to learn to fix myself.

I developed health anxiety and it is something which is still a work in progress.

My confidence and self-esteem suffered which made me turn down many opportunities but towards the end of the year things improved and it’s a big focus of mine for 2022.

2022 Intentions

Relationships: Setting stricter boundaries on how I want to be treated.

Wellbeing: Taking time for myself every day and protecting my energy by not watching the news or reading anything negative. Also continuing with my daily meditation.

Work and Career: Being confident enough to pursue new opportunities and building a community of successful women.

Personal development and Learning: Investing more in my personal development.

Spirituality and Faith: Practicing gratitude, reading more spiritual based books and connecting with like-minded women.

My main goal for 2022 is to have an article published in Psychologies magazine by the end of 2022.